Love is a Battlefield
by Tom W's luva
Summary: Sakura has never been loved by her abusive father, but it doesn't matter to her, what matters right now, is getting away from her father, and hopefully finding somewhere she can call home. Along the way, who knows who she'll meet.
1. Sakura's Poison

**Authors Note: Hope you guys enjoy my first serious fic! This is a story about what would've happened if Sakura's mom died. I don't own Sakura!!!**

Sakura walked around her room, spying for anything that she might need on her trip, a trip that she planned to never return from. Battling sexual abuse from her father for so many years, Sakura decided it was time to take matters into her own hands to make it stop.

She was going to run away, tonight, after the her father fell asleep. Old memories started to surface her brain, back to when she was 5 years old. Little Sakura was in a hospital, with her daddy, the room smelled very sterile and was making her sneeze. Her mother, was lying in one of the hospital beds, her face gaunt, her head bald, her skin pale and sickly looking; her father, loomed over her bed, holding her tiny, frail, hand. Shy Sakura was sitting on a chair, in the corner, waiting for her mommy to go back to normal and lift her up into the air. Her mommy motioned her over to the bedside, where she held Sakura's small hand and planted one last kiss on her soft cheek before leaving the earth forever more.

Daddy began crying, and Sakura knew that her mommy had left her, never to be seen or heard from again. Daddy soon became very aggressive at home, always yelling at her and slapping her across the face when she seemed to do something wrong. Sobbing took place almost every night from her fathers room, but reminiscing now, it wasn't only her father that was crying, it was Sakura too, on the inside. The memory faded away and she was once again in her room.

Sakura realized now that her father had blamed her for the cancer that took her mothers life. It wasn't five year old Sakura's fault, and he knew that, he just needed some kind of sick therapy that would take away the pain of losing someone. After physically abusing her for about two years, he stared sexually abusing her, starting from when she was only seven years old. There were times when Sakura was small, she thought that her father never loved her, he only wanted to hurt her. Now that she was 15, she realized it was true, and was not going to take it anymore.

She was tired of hiding the burden of being raped in her own home, from her own father, she was tired of classmates treating her differently because she had no reason to have friends, or socialize in any way. It didn't help that the teachers, disliked her for being late due to her father, but they didn't know it was her father to blame. Everyone loved her father, he was the political figure of her small town, always delivering friendly smiles to every passerby.

As Sakura grew older, she stayed the same size, tiny, and weak, and that didn't help her abuse situation at all. She attended the Ninja Academy in Konoha, but her father was a very accomplished ninja, and if she ever tried to use any jutsu's against him, he would take her out faster than you could say, "Whoa." She waited for the sounds of the TV to die down and the noise of her father snoring to get louder. When she agreed that he was in fact, very much asleep. She tiptoed out of the house, being careful to miss every spot that made the floor creak. The air was cold and sharp, and made Sakura suck in her breath as soon as she stepped out. She straddled over her bicycle as quickly and as quietly as possible, and pedaled down the street. _'I don't need love to live' _she kept telling herself as she turned the corner, to a hopefully better life.

**Authors Note: So, whaddid ya think? Didjya like it? If you have any advice or criticism, please review!**


	2. Mother Nature may be a painful cupid

Authors Note: Ok guys, you know the drill; Second chapter of Love is a Battlefield!!! WOOT! P.S. I DON'T OWN SAKURA DARNET!!!

The bright sun forced its way through Sakura's eyelids. As she rose from her un-fitful sleep, Sakura observed at the beautiful day that was approaching, a day that didn't match her mood, at all. She could just imagine the weatherman saying, _"Today is a gloooorrioouus day ladies and gentlemen, so grab some sun block and soak up the sun!"_ Watching the morning news was kind of like a daily ritual that she and her mother did every morning at six, before she died. Sobs crept up her mouth like a snake about to catch in on its prey.

'_You better suck it up, __now__.' _A pestering voice in the back of her head called out. She knew that this voice was right, it always was. This voice was similar to a gutsier, Sakura; one that was a lot tougher, and had a lot more self confidence then this pale, slim, girl of fifteen.

'_I better start going'_ she decided as she started to swing her leg over her bike. Pain struck her hamstring. 'Shikuso' she cursed out loud. Her eyes swept down her linen pants. _'Everything looks in-place'_ Sakura thought, as she continued to find where the problem was before wincing out loud. _'But then again…looks can be deceiving."_ She reminded herself while gently rolling up her pants. The source of the pain was a deep purple bruise the size of a tennis ball, with a healed over scab in the middle. _'Aaah'_ she reminisced, _'I knew I'd feel that in the morning'_ she told herself as she, more gently now, raised her leg gingerly over her bicycle. While strolling down the line of markets that had just set up Sakura's stomach made a low, grumbling sound. _'Now, of all times?'_ she questioned herself as she continued pedaling her cycle with slow, calculated motions. Her stomach persisted, growling louder and louder until she could not take the stares anymore. _'All right! Sheesh, I'll get a couple dumplings'_ she told her stomach, as if that would shut it up.

She got off her bike, carefully guiding it to one of the shops that sold dumplings. A middle-aged woman was in front of her, balancing a toddler on one hip and a purse on her other arm. To the right of the woman's left shoulder was a sign taped up onto the shops post.

_Missing: Haruno, Sakura_

_Age: 15_

_Hair color: Pink_

_Eyes: Green_

_If you have any information on this child, please contact Kenji Haruno._

'_Shikuso'_ Sakura swore. She quickly put on thick, black, square glasses, and raised the hood up on her light blue jacket, concealing her noticeable pink hair. _I need a better disguise then this,'_ she pointed out to herself before spying one of the markets that sold hair-care products.

'_Perfect,' _she grinned to herself before quickly driving her bicycle to the stand to pay for a box of black hair dye. After purchasing the black dye, she rode her bike towards the concealable river after picking up some dumplings for her desperate stomach. She took a peek at her watch, it read, 8:43 a.m. She was already running a little late.

By 9:45, Sakura was riding her bike to the entrance of Konoha; where she would soon be leaving. Sporting her new, black 'do, and her light blue colored contacts that she brought with her, she looked like a perfect stranger, which was of course how she wanted it to be. Sakura was riding through the forest with a smug and accomplished look on her face before something large knocked her off her bike, and made her world turn black.

Sakura awoke to find a certain raven-haired boy, with matching eyes staring at her from the side of the bed she was laying on. _'What the hell am I doing on a bed?' _she asked herself before panicking that they had found her- her father and his team of pestering assistants had found her. Oh there would be hell to pay when her father walked into the white washed room.

"So, where is my father?" the onyx haired girl calmly questioned Sasuke.

"Your father?" Sasuke asked back.

"Yes, my father, the one that found me." The girl stated, as if talking to a two year old.

A small smile crept up Sasuke's face, one that he himself hadn't seen for years.

"Gomen, but, your father is not here, there is only you and I."

While processing this information, Sakura started to panic even more, _'How did this guy find me? Where am I? Am I still in Konoha?' _

"Who the hell is this guy?" one of the thoughts in her head exploded out, before she could stop it. As soon as she realized her mistake, she blushed a deep red.

Sasuke smirked, clearly amused by this girl and her actions.

"This _guys_ name is Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke. And you would be…"

"I'm Sa- " she cut herself off before she blew her cover.

Sasuke's smirk was suddenly switched with a worried look, "Um, you do know your name, right?" The girl smiled, before answering, "Yea, sorry, my name is Nicole." Sakura said, coming up with the first name that popped into her head, her mothers name.

"No need for apologies, for a second there, I thought that I had knocked you out pretty badly," he babbled before realizing _his_ mistake. Now it was Sasuke's turn to blush, big time. "I mean, umm…"

"Aaah, so you're the baka who knocked me out eh?" the girl laughed, cutting Sasuke off before he embarrassed himself even more.  
"Yea, sorry about that, you see, I was practicing throwing kunai's, and I accidentally hit a tree branch too hard, and it fell on top of you…I'm really, really, sorry, I didn't see you at all at first, well, until I heard you cry out, then I carried you here."

"Where exactly is here?" the girl asked, clearly not moved by the fact a big hunk of mother nature slammed down on her a mere 3 hours ago.

"Here would be my cottage in the forest just outside Konoha." Sasuke explained, glad that this girl didn't hold grudges, or better yet, lawsuits against people.

"Aaah, well, thanks for saving me out there, but I best be leavi-" she was cut off by a stabs of pain that seemed to come from everywhere around her body all at once. She gasped for air as if she was just punched in the stomach, not quite accustomed to her new aches and pains from the wonderful hunk of mother nature that had broken two of her ribs, fractured her arm, and left a big bump on her forehead. "Ow," she whispered before being helped back down onto her pillow by Sasuke.

"Yea, you probably shouldn't move for a while," admitted Sasuke, before telling her about her conditions.

"Well, that would explain a lot," breathed Sakura, daring not to lift even a finger up.

"I guess it could be worse," she continued, before having Sasuke's finger brush against her lips, making a 'quiet' sign.

"And you're right, it could be worse, I could have not found you, which I'm beginning to see would've been a very, very, big misfortune. Now rest." He grinned.

And she did, but not before her heart did a little flip-flop in her chest.

Authors Note: Okay guys, that's it, now, you know the drill, you review, I write more, you enjoy, and then the cycle continues, so, whatcha waitin' for? Your done with the story, so, REVIEW!!!


	3. Love occurs in mysterious ways

Authors Note: To those of you who have reviewed, THANK YOU!!! Sorry it took so long to do another chapter, but I need inspiration, you know? Well, now I have it and I'm going to try and channel it for the greater good of my readers…Ok, before I go all Yoda on you, here's the latest chapter:

The smell of pine trees and rain wafted through Sakura's nostrils. As she opened her eyes, she realized she was still in Sasuke's house. More thoughts raced through her head, _How long have I been here? Are my injuries that serious? How am I going to get out of here? Does Sasuke know I'm not who I say I am?_ These questions continued to gnaw at Sakura until voices drifted through the wooden door.

"Tch. Naruto! I told you I can't practice today!"

"Ohh! But Sasuke! Kakashi sensei said that we need to practice!"

"Baka. When he said 'we' he meant you."

"What! Teme! Let's go at it right now! I'll beat you-tebayo!

"Hmm? Did you say something, baka?"

"I'll show you, stupid teme, Kage Bunshin no-

"Sasuke? Is that you?" Sakura called out, not wishing for fighting to take place.

"Ahh, so Sasuke's got a little friend in there, eh? THAT'S why you don't want to practice. Aha!"

"Tch. Naruto, for the last time, if anyone needs to practice, its you." And with that, Sasuke walked back into his house and firmly shut the door. The thick mahogany door muffled Naruto's rants and raves until he finally gave up and went to eat Ramen.

Sasuke managed a weak smile, "So, now you've met Naruto,"

"Oh I feel so privileged," quipped Sakura.

Sasuke's laughter filled the drab room. Pictures of a family, lost by betrayal, hung atop the walls of the little cabin. A small breakfast nook beside a fireplace dawned the back of the home while a bathroom and a bed decorated the left hand side of it.

_This girl sure is interesting_, Sasuke thought to himself as he studied the girl once more, blue eyes, dark hair, and a tired expression beheld her small face. The afternoon was spent playing board games, cards, and short stories about their lives.

"Yeah, my dad was always comparing me with my brother," Sasuke started on the topic of families.

"Hmm, you know, I always wanted a sibling, is it any fun?"

A shadow fell across Sasuke's face, "Well, lets just say it can be real troublesome,"

That was the last of the family discussion after Sakura realized her mistake, Sasuke's entire clan had been wiped out by his brother, Itachi, but Sakura couldn't let on that she knew, so instead, she reached out and stroked his hand. A small smile crept onto Sasuke's face as he traced the lines on Sakura's palm.

"You know, they say that the lines on your palm can predict your future," Sasuke mentioned, trying to capture Sakura's curiosity.

It worked.

"Really?" Sakura asked, "So, can you predict my future?"

Sasuke couldn't help himself from grinning now, "Well, you know, I have done it a few times, I could possibly try to read yours," he bragged.

"Well then, Obi-wan, show me the light if you please," joked Sakura, her heart filled with warmth and her eyes shining.

Sasuke traced the lines of her palm over and over, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes concentrated.

Sakura watched the dark eyes search her palm over and over until finally, he came up with a conclusion.

"Well," started Sasuke, clearly impressed with himself, "I know what your future is, Nicole," he continued, while slowly inching towards the side of Sakura's bed, until his perfect, pale, face was inches from hers.

"What is my future Sasuke?" Sakura breathed, her heart pounding like a jackrabbit.

"Your future looks very promising," Sasuke said as he entwined one of his fingers through one of Sakura's dark locks. His face moved towards Sakura's, their lips almost touching, until Sakura turned away, frightened by what could happen if Sasuke knew the truth.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered as Sasuke fell back into his chair, clearly embarrassed that he had been rejected.

"No problem," Sasuke said a little too quickly, he was a little bit excited himself, his adrenaline pumping through his veins as if it were as important as oxygen. "So, um, goodnight, I guess," Sasuke stated as he got out of his chair and made his way into his room. Sakura's face was flushed, the idea that someone as beautiful as Sasuke could possibly even like her made her feel so free, and light.

_The stars are the brightest and the most beautiful here_ Sakura decided before drifting off to sleep.


	4. title TBA

Authors Note: I do NOT own any part of Naruto; if I happened to, so many things would be different. [and it probably wouldn't be as awesome as it is now! Love you lots! NOW READ MY STORY:

The next morning, Sakura arose with a feeling that could only be described of as dread. She did not know why this feeling was nagging at her, she had the most amazing night of her life the night before, and she slept dreamless dreams instead of having horrifying nightmares she usually conjures up in her mind. It was suddenly upon her, when she peered at the calendar on the wall, why she had been feeling so dreadful ever since she woke up, _today was her mother's birthday_. Every year since her mother's death, Sakura's father would wake up every morning on his late wife's birthday and drink alcohol and sake senseless until he couldn't speak a full sentence without slurring. When some of the alcohol had left his system, the beating began. Deep plunging screams escaped from Sakura's mouth as her father would beat down the door and drag her out from under her bed. The blows would come next, marring her stomach, back, and thighs with deep purple bruises. The scars would only mark places that could be covered up with clothing, her father was a very smart man; he would never leave a scar that could be seen on her face or neck. Sakura shuddered at the luck she had of being away from her father on this particular day; however, all luck comes with a downside. A small knock came at the door to Sakura's room, causing her to leap off the bed, instinctively shoving her arms out to block her fall. Her arms however, did not protect Sakura from slamming her head into the side of the nightstand. As soon as Sasuke heard the thud followed by a gasp of shock, he shoved through the door, to find Sakura cradling her head to her chest and rocking back and forth.

"Let me see," Sasuke soothed, trying to remove Sakura's hands from her head.

"No way!" Sakura insisted, her cheeks flushing. _You are such a klutz! _She automatically reprimanded herself. _Now Sasuke is going to see what an idiot you are Sakura! Baka!_

"Come on," Sasuke said, his voice calming her down some. "It'll be fine, just let me see," he continued.

Sakura whimpered; she knew she couldn't keep this up much longer, but she had to try. If she let Sasuke look at the scar she knew she was going to have, he would take her to the hospital and then everyone would discover whom she really is.

"I'm fine Sasuke, I just need a towel or something." Sakura splurged out.

Sasuke whipped a towel out of a closet a few feet away from the bed and dabbed it in cold water from the sink.

"Now," Sasuke started, "Let me see," With that, he scooted even closer to Sakura trying to peer at the damage Sakura was trying to cover up.

Sakura finally gave up and removed her slightly bloody hands.

Throbbing pain was the first thing Sakura noticed when she removed her hands. The second thing that caught her attention was Sasuke's face sitting four inches away from hers trying to stop the flow of blood with the towel. He was sitting on his knees in just a pair of jeans, his alabaster abs rippled in the morning light.

"Hold this to your head, and stay still," Sasuke chuckled. "The last thing we need is for you to get into another accident." He motioned towards her head and her other various injuries from the tree. He reappeared a minute later with gauze and tape, masterly wrapping the gauze around Sakura's head and taping the ends to hold the gauze in place.

"Now, was that so hard?" Sasuke wondered aloud. 

_YES!_ Sakura wanted to scream out. Instead, she answered, "Considering you just found out how deeply uncoordinated I am, I would say yes, that was hard, and painful." She whimpered.

"Oh, come on, don't be embarrassed!" Sasuke answered back, taking her hands in his and trying to get her to look him in the eyes. 

"Too late." She whisper-laughed, trying so hard not to blush.

Before Sasuke could answer back, a loud knock came at the door, followed by another not ten seconds later.

"SASUKE!" someone shouted, "I know you're in there! Get out here dattebayo!"

Sasuke sighed, getting off his knees to open the door a crack for Naruto.

"What do you want Naruto?" Sasuke droned.

"You know what I want Sasuke." Naruto snapped back.

"Hmm. Let's see. A friend who doesn't find you completely irritating?" Sasuke quipped, amusement spreading on his usually serious face.

Naruto's teeth gnashed together while he took in Sasuke's pleasant mood.

"Why are you in such high spirits Sasuke? Is your _friend_ still here?" Naruto asked, insanely curious.

The smirk on Sasuke's face was wiped off immediately.

"Naruto, I have no idea what you are talking about." Sasuke said in an indifferent tone.

"Yes you do, I'm talking about your little _girl_friend in your house, I heard her!" Naruto insisted.

"Hmm, that's interesting," Sasuke said. "I never thought you to be the type of person to hear things, Naruto." 

"The only thing I hear is your defensiveness whenever I bring up your special _friend_." 

"What did you really come here for Naruto? Was it really just to ruin my day?"

"You know what I want, Sasuke." Naruto said slowly.

"And you remember what I told you, I'm sure? Train by yourself." Sasuke spat, and the he paced back into the house, this time almost slamming the door in Naruto's face.

_Another failed attempt. Nice going. _Naruto scolded himself as he stalked off of Sasuke's property to go find Kakashi sensei.

Sasuke walked back into the house to find Sakura mindlessly playing with a loose strand of thread that was unwinding itself from the towel that Sasuke gave her to stop the small flow of blood that poured out of Sakura's head. He sat back down on his knees and re-started the conversation.

"Now, where were we?" He breathed, almost sending Sakura into complete shock.

"Um," she stuttered, her train of thought cluttered. "I really can't remember," she fibbed, not wanting to go back to the topic of her complete clumsiness. 

"But, why won't we tell Naruto about me?" she whispered, slightly afraid of the answer.

Sasuke's eyes glowed, "_We_ are not going to tell Naruto because then I might have to share you, and I want to be selfish and keep you all to myself."

Sakura was incredulous as red warmed up her face. Her gaze turned back towards the loose strand of thread on the towel. She placed her hands on her lap and waited for the conversation to take a different turn, one that wouldn't be as awkward as this particular topic.

Sasuke took Sakura's chin and tugged it forward so she couldn't look away from him.

"Hey," was all he said, waiting for her response.

"Hi," she said, trying not to blush when Sasuke's hand reached her face, and stroked the right side of her face from ear to jaw.

"How's your head?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

"Better now," Sakura breathed, nestling the side of her face to Sasuke's shoulder.


End file.
